The man accused of driving into park barriers near the White House late Monday told police he wanted to get inside the mansion to seize power and praised Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler as a “strong leader,” according to charging papers.
An affidavit released Tuesday said Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, of Chesterfield, Missouri, told officers he would even “kill the president if that’s what I have to do.”
U.S. Park Police arrested Mr. Kandula after a U-Haul he was driving crashed into the security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Park at 16th Street NW shortly before 10 p.m.
The crash was a good distance from the White House gates, but the incident prompted road and sidewalk closures, and the nearby Hay-Adams hotel had to be evacuated.
The affidavit says a park police officer saw Mr. Kandula drive onto the sidewalk, sending multiple pedestrians running from the scene. The truck struck the metal bollard barriers that prevent vehicles from entering Lafayette Square, backed up and hit them again.
The officer hit his emergency lights and watched Mr. Kandula get out and go to the back of the vehicle.
“The officer watched as Kandula removed a red and white flag with a Nazi Swastika in the center from a black backpack he was carrying,” the affidavit says. “At this point, the USPP officer ordered Kandula down to the ground and detained him and searched him.”
The vehicle was searched to ensure there were no explosives inside, and Mr. Kandula was taken in for questioning.
According to authorities, he told police that he came from the St. Louis area on a one-way ticket to “seize power, and be put in charge of the nation.”
When asked about the Nazi flag, Mr. Kandula said he bought it online because Nazis “have a great history.”
Asked to elaborate, Mr. Kandula told police he admired their “authoritarian nature, eugenics, and their one world order.” When asked whether he admired any leaders, he said, “Hitler, because he was a strong leader,” the affidavit says.
U-Haul said Tuesday that Mr. Kandula had rented the truck in Herndon, Virginia, in his own name. His public records had no red flags to justify refusing him, the company stated.
According to the Park Police, Mr. Kandula has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon; reckless operation of a motor vehicle; threatening to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm on a president, vice president, or family; destruction of federal property; and trespassing.
President Biden is relieved that no one was hurt, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Mr. Biden was present at the White House during the incident but was not briefed about it until Tuesday morning.
“He’s relieved that no one was injured last night and grateful to the agents and the law enforcement officer who responded so quickly,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.
The White House area is no stranger to security incidents.
Fencing was set up around Lafayette Park during the height of the protests after George Floyd’s death in May 2020. Former President Donald Trump famously walked across the park to a church that had been damaged during the protests after officers had cleared the area.
Through the years, police have caught numerous fence jumpers on the actual White House grounds. In 2014, a man managed to enter the White House through the North Portico doors before he was caught on the main floor.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.